


left too long unsaid

by scheherezhad



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 11:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11058432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scheherezhad/pseuds/scheherezhad
Summary: In the aftermath of Finley defeating Nacht, Graves and Reese have an important conversation and clear the air.





	left too long unsaid

**Author's Note:**

> I almost missed that [today is Reese's birthday](http://mineraloid.tumblr.com/post/141699661685/hello-there-i-played-hustle-cat-and-loved-it-to). But since I remembered, I figured it'd be a good time to post this thing.

Graves flits about, checking on his fledglings. The fight with Nacht had taken quite a toll on all of them, emotionally if nothing else, and he wants to explain. He has the words again, now, and his staff deserve to know the truth, but they aren't much in the shape to hear it yet. Landry and Hayes leave for their apartment building together, Landry hovering close to Hayes, tense in the shoulders as if he expects another attack. Mason helps Finley take an exhausted Avery home.

That leaves Reese, who has been quietly cleaning up the mess in the café. Such a diligent boy, always picking up after Graves's chaos.

"Reese? You don't have to do all that right now," Graves says quietly. "It will still be here tomorrow. You should get some rest."

He barely looks up from the scattered napkins he's gathering. "It'll upset the cats. Better to do it now."

"Then let me take care of it. You've all had a stressful night."

Reese snorts. "What, like you didn't?"

Fair point, but irrelevant. "I was prepared to face that stress at some point, though. You weren't."

"But I could've been!" Reese shouts, throwing down the bag of rubbish he's been filling up. His eyes blaze. "I could've helped you if you'd trusted me enough to tell me what was going on!"

Graves does not visibly flinch. He learned to suppress that reaction long ago, under Nacht's manic gaze. "It was for your protec--"

"Bullshit!"

"You are rash and he is _dangerous_ ," Graves says, raising his voice. "You saw--you _felt_ \--what he was capable of before Finley was able to shut him down. I was not going to knowingly put you in his path when you are still learning."

"Then _teach me_ , Graves!" The anger in Reese's voice gives way to something more vulnerable. " _Teach me_. That's why I came here, but you've spent more time lately fawning over Avery than anything. I was supposed to be your student, not them!"

"If you truly want to learn, stop trying to be your father!" Graves snaps back.

This is not how he wanted to have this conversation. He wanted Reese to realize on his own that copying his father's magic was the wrong path, but it has been over a year since he took Reese as his apprentice, and it has become quite clear that he has chosen his methods poorly. The boy is bright and has such incredible potential, but Graves has been allowing him to squander it on trying to be something he's not.

The words make Reese jerk as if he's been slapped. "Should I be like Avery, then? Would that get your attention?"

"Yes!" There are layers of meaning in his question that Graves has to ignore at the moment. Its face value is the important part right now. "Do you understand why Avery impressed me so much, Reese? It is because they learned on their own, not just simple tricks and charms, but how to find their own inspiration. They even managed to help Finley do the same.

"The magic must suit the user. Your strength is your own, not something you covet in someone else, and Avery understood that intuitively. _That_ ," Graves says, throwing a shaky hand out toward the window, "was what happens when you take someone else's magic. It _corrupts_ you."

"So whose magic did he take?" Reese asks, though his face says he already suspects what the answer is.

"Mine. This was my magic," he says, gesturing at his sculptures around the café. "Nacht copied it, and forcing his power into unnatural channels warped both the magic and his mind. Someone I cared about became someone who terrifies me.

"I cannot bear to see the same happen to you." He abhors being so direct, and he cannot look at Reese just now. He directs his gaze to the freshly scuffed tiles in front of the door, instead. He does hope that will buff out, or he'll have to see about having Landry replace them. "I will resume your lessons at your earliest convenience. You are welcome to take some time off, first, of course. I'm sure there are a great many things you will want to attend to now that the curse is lifted."

Reese remains quiet for a long moment, and Graves finally looks at him. He's unsure what expression he expected to see, but it was not this guarded half-smile.

"Maybe a weekend," Reese concedes, not quite meeting Graves's eyes himself. "We both know this place would fall apart without me."

Graves gives a quiet hum of agreement, but it seems the conversation is over. Reese retrieves the rubbish bag and starts cleaning again. Graves sighs softly and begins righting overturned chairs and tables that had been knocked hither and thither by the combined maelstrom of Finley's and Avery's magics.

At least now that Nacht is dealt with, Graves will finally have some respite from the chaos. He can stop splitting his attention between his past and his present, and he can begin to make amends.

**Author's Note:**

> I seriously wrote this, like, a year ago, and I can't believe I've been in this fandom that long already. I had originally intended to expand on this and do a longer post-game story, but it kind of fizzled out. I still really love this bit, though, and it stands on its own nicely. It's a fight I really believe they need to have.


End file.
